Memory Ninjas: The Sequel
by Gabby loves music
Summary: OK again nothing to do with harry potter. I wrote this with HufflepuffForever, so credit goes to her too. We made this story up from scratch, so THIS STORY IS OURS! I suggest you read the first book before you read this- just saying!
1. Chapter 1

**Ch. 1- Jake**

"Ow, Joseph! That hurt!" I yelled

"If you want to be a ninja it can't hurt."

"I don't care! It did!"

I kept on walking while fidgeting with the button Suki had given me five years ago. My brother, Joseph, and I we're now fifteen and I'm guessing Suki and Jasmine are around… nineteen, I'm guessing.

"Aw, don't be like that. You just want to see Suki."

"Shut up." I pushed him and he stumbled. It was true, I kind of do like Suki. But will she even remember us? And what about Jasmine?

The gates came into view along with two figures.

"I really think we should go find Jake and Joseph, Jasmine"

"I wish we could but, Suki, get real. Our Sensei needs us. HE'S ON THE VERGE OF DEATH!"

"YOU DON"T THINK I KNOW THAT? IT'S PRACTICALY MY FAULT! I'M THE ONE THAT LEFT HIM ALONE!"

Suki choked up and I could tell she was crying.

"No, Suki. It's not your fault."

A boy came up and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes it is! No one ever tells me the truth!"

She ran away and the boy ran after her.

Jasmine squinted in our direction.

"Jake? Joseph?"

She ran over with a smile on her face.

"Jake! Joseph!"

She pulled us into a hug.

Joseph and I smiled a huge smile.

"You'll want to see Suki, right? Come on!"

She ran through her village asking people if they had seen Suki. Most said no but others gave us some conflicting answers. All of asuden a section of the road burst into flame. I looked around and saw Suki sitting in an ally.

"Hi, Suki."

"Huh? JAKE!" She jumped up and started crying again. She hugged me and started crying into my shoulder.

"Uh… it's okay…uh."

Joseph came up to us and gave me the thumbs up knowing the reason she was crying. She lifted her head off my shoulder and sputtered, "J-joseph?" She started crying again and Jasmine came running into our ally. Jasmine pulled us into a group hug and she started crying too.

Suki's head lifted up a bit and landed on my button.

"Y-you kept i-it?"

I nodded and she gave me a big hug.

"You want to come see our Sensei?"

We nodded and they led us to a small hospital.

The nurse looked at Suki and nodded.

She motioned us down a hallway and into a room.

"Sensei Joshen? I brought Joseph and Jake," she whispered

"Ah, the boy's you talked so frequently about?"

She blushed a deep crimson and nodded.

"Come here boys."

We came forward.

"Ah, Suki and Jasmine were right. You would make good ninjas. Well, as soon as I get out I will-" he cut himself off by breaking into a round of coughing. A tear ran down Suki and Jasmine's cheek.

"Girls, don't cry. I will get out."

"Come potete essere così sicuro?" Asked Suki.

I ran through the different languages I knew.

"So appena." Replied their Sensei

" Suki, I didn' la t sa che avete conosciuto l'italiano." I asked finally figuring out that they were speaking in Italian.

"Sì."

"Would you mind speaking in English?" Asked Joseph and Jasmine at the same time.

"I asked our Sensei how he knew that. He replied, I just know. Jake said he didn't know I spoke Italian and I replied, yes"

"Well, thanks for includeing us," Said Jasmine.

Sensei Joshen started coughing again and nurses hurried us out of the room, Jasmine and Suki putting up a good fight.

All four of us walked to the training arena to train. Suki emediately started takeing her anger out on dummies.

I looked around and my eyes landed on some sort of gate. I pushed on it but it wouldn't budge.

I ran my hand over the figure of a lion first the eyes then the pointy teeth.

"I wonder why it won't open?" I thought out loud while placing my hand on the head. The door slid open to reveal a dark room, I think. I looked back and stepped in.

Wow, that beginning is REALLY emotional. Well... bye


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The door slid closed behind me. I looked around, but without the light from the doorway, I was blind. Feeling around the walls of the large room, I finally found a lamp. Lighting it with matches I found a moment later, I looked around.

All around the room, there were big piles of what I can only call junk. The nearest pile consisted of broken staffs and swords. On the very top was a large chest reminding me of what pirates might bury their treasure in. Another pile held coffee mugs, and another had books about plants, piled to the low ceiling. I lost interest in the other piles and went back to the one with the chest. I hoisted it down and examined the lock. It was too strong for me to break and so I set of in search of the key.

After looking through the pile of mugs and the book pile, I noticed the other piles, behind what I thought was a wall. There seemed to be endless piles of keys, as far as the eye could see. I went to the first pile and looked closer. Every one of the keys was different, and my gut told me that one of these keys would fit the box. I went to the first pile and grabbed a handful. I brought them back to the box and tried them all. No luck. I knew it wouldn't be that easy. Who would hide the key in the first place someone would look?

I summoned up my courage. I was going to do something that I had not attempted to do since last year, and that had been an accident. If Suki found out I could do this, she'd think I was a freak. Or even if Joseph or Jasmine found out… I shuddered at the thought. They probably would kick me out of the school and packing to the nut house. I would defiantly have to keep it a secret, that's for sure. I prepared myself mentally for what I was about to do.

I summoned a breath of wind that slowly sputtered out. I sighed and tried again. This time, I had the wind at my will. I felt power that I didn't know I had, or even thought I could have. I used the wind to, one by one, pick up the keys and try them in the lock. It was a lot faster than if I had done it by hand. I did this until finally found the one that fit. It was in a pile in the middle of the room. I stopped the wind and picked up the key. I slowly put it in the keyhole and turned it. The lock popped open and I looked inside.

Inside, there was nothing but a small sheet of paper. I yelled in anguish and slammed the chest closed. The key flew back to the pile where it was before. After I took a few deep breaths, I decided to open it again and take a look at the paper. The only problem was, I no longer had the key, and the chest had locked itself. I walked over to the pile to retrieve the key. As soon as my fingers were an inch away, all of the other keys flew up and attacked me. It was a good thing that my brother and I had been practicing ever since Suki and Jasmine had showed up and saved my village. I grabbed a broken staff from a pile and used it to deflect the keys from my face and vital organs. After I had taken down all of the attackers, I went back to the pile and instead of using my hands, I summoned a gust of wind to pick up the key for me.

I opened up the chest again and picked up the note. It was scrawled in and untidy script and it read;

_Dear Reader,_

_My time on this earth is limited. I write this in the hope that my life was not in vain. There is something of immense value to me that I have hidden. The only clue I can give you, dear reader, is that sometimes empty is really full, if you open your eyes and your imagination. Please hurry your efforts to obtain it. I would like it before I die, which could be any day now._

_Your Dear and Dying Friend,_

_Sylvester S. Gidell_

I folded the note and put it in my back pocket. Empty is full? I had no clue what to think. I wanted to consult Suki and Jasmine, but I had no way of contacting them with the door closed and me unable to open it. I looked at the empty chest and it dawned on me. I pushed the bottom of the chest down and it sprang back up to reveal a secret bottom, full of notes about something called a Western Stone that could cure any sickness.

The empty chest was full. Just like Sylvester had said.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

I turned the stone over in my hand when I heard the door creak open.

"Joseph, are you sure that Jake went over this way? I can't see a thing. Oh! Wait."

A sudden light burst forth.

"Woah! Suki, I didn't know you could do that!" That was Joseph alright.

"Well, it took a lot of practice to make fire out of thin air but totally worth it."

Fire out of thin air what was she talking about?

Suki, Jasmine, and Joseph's figures came into view.

"Jake, what's that?" Asked Jasmine.

"Uh…stone?"

"No, what IS it?"

"Oh, a Western Stone."

"JASMINE!" Shreked Suki.

"Geez, Suki. I know."

"What?" I asked clearly showing my confusion.

"A Western Stone could cure Sensei Joshen." Explained Jasmine trying to calm down a hyperventilating Suki.

"But the stone belongs to a guy named Sylvester."

"Why does the name Sylvester ring a bell? It's not exactly a common name is it?"

I knowtested Suki holding a small ball of fire.

"Suki!"

"What?"

"Y-you're holding f-fire!"

"Huh? Oh! It doesn't hurt. I have fire magic. Please don't think I'm a freak."

She said the last part very fast.

I stayed quiet thinking this over. Suki had fire magic. I have air. Joseph has earth. Does Jasmine have water?

Suki just stared at me.

"See Jasmine," she yelled, "I told you they wouldn't take it lightly."

She stomped off.

"You should follow her," said Jasmine, "she finds interesting things when she's upset."

I scrambled up and raced after Suki.

"Perché, oh perché, ho fatto gli dicono? Deve pensare I' m. un freak"

"No, I don't"

She spun around.

"Leave me alone Jacob."

I stopped in my tracks. She had never used my real name before. Not even when I played a prank on her on her way back to the village. She just smiled and laughed it off. She must really be upset.

She stalked off into the library.

"What do you have there?"

I jumped and saw some random villager.

"Um…a stone?" I turned and walked into the library.

I found Suki muttering over some old scrolls.

"The four elements, Fire-me, Water-Jasmine, Air, and Earth shall find a stone that will save a life-well Jacob found that stone that could save Sensei… Fire with temper shall walk away-done- and find the scroll-also done- Air will follow…" She trailed off and started reading silently.

She rolled up the scroll and stood. She was so deep in thought that she almost walked into me.

"Oops, sorry Jaco- Jake."

She handed me the scroll and asked, "Air or earth?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Aria o terra?"

"Stiamo parlando in italiano ora?"

"Ugh, you' re così irritazione"

"Aria."

"Perché didn' t mi dite?"

"I didn't want you to think of me differently."

"You turned me blue on my way home. If I didn't think of you differently then, I wont now."

We hugged and she told me all about the scroll. She said we had to find the guy named Sylvester but the scroll didn't tell why. There was some thing she was keeping from me. I just didn't know what.

(Suki & Jake's Italian conversation-

S: Air or Earth?

J: Are we speaking in Italian now?

S: Ugh, you're so irritating

J: Air

S: Why didn't you tell me?)


	4. Chapter 4

Ch.4

The rest of the night passed with the usual training and bonfire that had become a usual thing for me at the school. Nothing unusual happened, much to my surprise. The only thing different than normal was that Suki was acting strange around me. Every time that I thought she was about to tell me something, Jasmine would pull her away. The third time that it happened, I heard a little of their whispered conversation.

"He has the right to know what's going on," Suki said.

"You do realize that this is Jake that we are talking about. The scroll said-" Jasmine started.

"JAKE IS MY FRIEND," Suki whisper yelled, "I DON'T CARE WHAT A STUPID PIECE OF PARCHMENT SAYS!" She stormed off and Jasmine followed. I snuck behind them, because I wanted to know what the scroll had said about me.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Jasmine asked.

"I- I think that…"Suki said and whispered something so softly that I couldn't hear. Jasmine broke into laughter and when Suki gave her one of her famous looks, Jasmine shrugged.

"You have to admit, it is pretty funny!" Jasmine said. I decided to leave just then and rejoined the bonfire. Jasmine returned a little while later, but Suki wasn't with her. I asked Jasmine where Suki had went and she said, "The garden behind the sparring building, but be carful, she's kind of upset."

I nodded and Jasmine went to rejoin a group of girls that looked her age. I left to go find the garden, but I had only gotten about five steps when Jasmine came back and handed me the scroll, "Give this to Suki, try to make her see reason."

She left and I continued to the garden. I was about to round the corner into the garden when I heard a sobbing noise. It was Suki. She was on a bridge that went over a small stream, crying her eyes out. A voice in my head told me to leave and rejoin the bonfire, but I pushed the thought aside and went out to Suki.

"What's wrong?" I asked. She gave me a look, which I returned with one of my own. She sighed.

"Everything is wrong! I thought the stone was the answer to our prayers, but it just makes things more complicated. The Sylvester guy made it, and he is expecting us to bring it to him. It can only be used once, so we can't help Sensei Joshen if we return it to its rightful owner. And the scroll," she hesitated. I gave her a go-ahead-look, and she continued.

"The scroll says that you are going to betray us in the end. It has never been wrong, and Sensei has had it since he was a student. It also said that your brother will have to stop you before you make the wrong choice, and it may end… badly."

"Well, I don't really know what to say to that…" I said. Suki gave me a knowing smile. We both sat for a while and watched the stream flow by. After a while, I looked over to Suki. She was fiddling with a necklace I had gotten her for her last birthday. She looked up and had a guilty look on her face.

"Is it wrong for me to want to give the stone to Sensei?" Suki asked, her eyes pleading.

"I know how much he means to you, and honestly, I can't blame you for wanting to give it to him. I just think we need to think things through," I said.

"Can't you see?" Suki said, her eyes filling with tears, "Sensei doesn't have long to live, and from what I gather, Sylvester doesn't either! We need an answer and we need it now."

I leaned over and whispered in her ear, "If anyone can figure this out, it will be you." With that, I kissed her cheek and said, "Goodnight Suki."

I left and headed for my small hut that I shared with my brother. He was gone, probably still at the bonfire. I laid in bed and replayed what had just happened in my head. I was still trying to figure out what the look on her face meant. Would she be happy or offended at my show of emotion? I would have to wait and see, for sleep and I had finally found one another.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

"Suki are you sure we should leave now? And without Jake?" That was Joseph. So…Suki was in here too?

"Yes I'm sure. Now stop talking so loud and find the stone."

"I still don't think this a good idea. What if he's already awake and can hear everything we say?" asked Jasmine.

They were all quiet for a while until Joseph shouted, "Found it!"

"Shhh," hushed Jasmine and Suki.

"Oops, sorry."

Two sets of feet went out the door. Who stayed? I forced the air in the room to blow around and give me an idea of who stayed. A picture of Suki popped into my head.

"I'm sorry you can't come," she breathed.

She left.

I hadn't noticed that my hands were clenched in fists. I couldn't believe it! They wanted to leave me here? No way! I rocketed out of bed and pulled on my clothes… sort of. I stopped in mid pull of my shirt as my eyes landed on a sheet of paper. I picked it up.

Dear Jake,

I hope that by the time you read this we'll be far away, though most likely not. We've gone to find Sylvester. I wish you could have come but with the stone, you can take no chances. I've left this note to ask you something. Please don't follow us, cover for us. If people ask where we are make something up. I know this is a lot to ask.

Love,

Suki x

I felt like ripping up the note and following them. But, Suki is counting on me. Grr. Girls are so annoying.

I finished getting dressed and went to the hospital. Maybe Sensei Joshen can help me.

I asked what room that Suki's Sensei was in. The nurse told me. I walked in.

"Sensei Joshen? Look at this."I handed him the note and he read it.

"Suki places a lot of trust in you. She wouldn't trust just anyone."

"Should I go after them?"

"I think you should. No matter what Suki says."

"Yes sir."

I didn't pack anything because my stuff had been raided through and some stuff was missing. Does Suki think that I wont stay here? Or is this Joseph's fault? He's stolen my stuff before.

I dashed away.

"Guys, stop," said Suki, "Someone is following us."

"What do you mean?" asked Jasmine.

I saw that Suki had two bags.

"I mean _someone_ is following us." She put emphases on someone like she knew it was me.

"Oh."

They kept walking. I followed behind them. Suki dropped one of the bags. I picked it up and went through it. She had packed lots of stuff. Food, money, my picture of her.

They stopped and set up tents.

"I'll go get firewood," said Suki.

I started to back up but Suki's voice stopped me.

"Don't you dare move Jacob."

She came up in front of me.

"I can't believe you! I tell you to stay and cover for us and you come. I expected it though. If we're caught by one of the stricter Sensei's it will be all your fault."

She picked up an armful of wood and stomped back to the campsite. I followed her. Jasmine and Joseph didn't look surprised that I was here. Suki lit the campfire and ducked into one of the tents. A sound erupted from it. I couldn't tell if she was screaming or crying. Most likely both.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

"Hey dude," my brother said uneasily, "Ummm, what's up."

"Don't say that. I know you're wishing that I had stayed back to cover for you, but Sensei Joshen told me to go." At the name of her Sensei, Suki came out and rubbed her tear-filled eyes.

"You spoke to Sensei?" said Suki.

"Yes. He said that you don't trust just anyone with covering for you, but to come anyway," I said, shuffling my feet and blushing.

"Well, I suppose that it's a good thing you came. We are going to need all of the help we can get," Suki said and walked back into the tent. I nodded and then froze. Wait, where were we going? I thought that Suki would have given the stone to Sensei right away, without question. Now, what would happen to Sensei Joshen?

I made a move to go into the tent and Jasmine stopped me.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I need to talk to Suki," I said and broke out of her grip. I went into the tent and sat on the ground by Suki.

"Why are you in here?" She asked.

"I need to talk to you," I said, "Where are we going, exactly, on this little mission?"

"To find the Sylvester guy," she said. At my questioning look, she added, "I didn't expect you to understand."

"But what about Sensei Joshen?" I asked.

"Oh," she beamed, "He's doing a lot better and there are other ways to help him. Anyway, I feel like we are Sylvester's last hope. Otherwise, he might not trust kids to do this, you know what I mean?"

"Yes. What else can we do for Sensei Joshen, though?" I asked.

"The nurse said that there is a plant that can cure him. It's right on the way to where Sylvester was last seen," she said, "I've been doing some research on the guy, and he found cures for lots of different things, but the stone is his masterpiece."

"Well, of course it is! It can heal any sickness, and that's pretty impressive!" I said and Suki laughed.

"Sorry that I thought you couldn't come. I just hope that the scroll was wrong. Get some rest, tomorrow we will work on your air abilities, and see if your brother has any hidden talents," she said and winked.

"Goodnight Suki," I said and left to go to my own small tent. When I stepped outside, Joseph and Jasmine quickly ran to go sit by the fire, and they pretended they had been there the whole time.

"Nice try guys, but I saw that," I said. Jasmine and Joseph smiled. I went into my tent and rolled out my sleeping bag. Tomorrow was sure to be a busy day. What with training, leaving to officially start our adventure, and…Suki. I was so confused about her. Sometimes she seemed to enjoy spending time with me, other times she barely acknowledged my existence. Whatever came in the next few days, I hoped beyond hope that Suki would be on my side.

With all of the thoughts buzzing around my brain, it was hard to fall asleep. Soon enough, I was dreaming.

_Suki and I were holding hands around a bonfire. We were laughing at something I had said. A large bird dropped down and tried to grab her. I held on tight, but the bird was strong. Suki kissed me and the bird carried her away._

The next morning, I woke up to my brother shaking me franticly.

"Suki's gone," he said.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7

"Suki's gone! How?" I yelled.

"How? We don't know," replied Jasmine.

I pulled on the clothes I was wearing yesterday.

"We have to find her," I said, "She's the only person who knows where we're going."

"Exactly," said Jasmine, "if we keep going she'll find us."

"Jake I think that's the best thing to do right now."

Stupid Joseph. Taking Jasmine's side.

"Okay," I said cautiously, "just watch out for birds."

"Watch out for WHAT?" asked Joseph.

"Birds," I replied.

I packed up and we left. I made the air move to see if it could sense the way Suki went. All I got was a couple of rabbits and a big bird. WAIT, A BIG BIRD! I veered suddenly to the left and ran as fast as I could.

"Jake, wait!" called Jasmine.

I didn't wait. I had to find Suki.

"JAAAAKE!"

I found out why she yelled that a moment later when I ran face first into a tree. I sat on the ground staring at the tree I had ran into.

"Sheesh, Jake. Watch where you're going."

"Right," I muttered.

I stood up and walked on.

"Jake, what are you doing?" Asked Joseph

"Finding Suki," I replied.

"I thought we were going to help this Sylvester guy," said Jasmine.

"Well, I-I… fine."

We set off in the opposite direction but I felt like I was abandoning Suki. I made my mind up. Once we got Suki back I was telling her that I liked her. Even if she didn't like me back. When we got back on trace I would deliberately walk into trees. Sure it hurt but it gave Suki time to catch up.

"Okay, Jake, if you don't stop you will give your self brain damage," said Jasmine.

"Jake has brain damage already. He keeps walking into trees."

"Oh, ha ha."

"We'll stop here."

We stopped. It took us about five minuets to light the fire without Suki's magic.

"I'm going to bed," I said. Watching the fire reminded me of Suki.

I slipped into my seeping bag and fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8

When dawn came, I was rudely awoken by a large, multicolored bird. Also, screams from my fellow traveling companions. Best morning ever, right?

After we beat the bird senseless, we packed up and moved on. Jasmine and Joseph were whispering as I frantically searched the skies for a sign of the girl of my dreams. The dark forest was soon replaced by a marshy swamp. I peered through the reeds, exploring while the others made a fire for lunch. I sloshed through the water, desperate for a sign, even the smallest hair would have made me satisfied that we were going in the right direction. Suddenly, I saw feathers. Lots of feathers.

"JASMINE! JOSEPH! BIRD! HELP ME!" I screamed waving my arms frantically and running for the campsite. The others came running towards me, weapons at the ready. I grabbed a large fistful of small pebbles and grabbed my slingshot from Joseph. We waited for something large to show itself. When nothing appeared, Jasmine crept forward and peered through the reeds. One minute, she was there. The next minute, she was gone.

"Jasmine?" Joseph asked softly and slowly walked to where we had last seen her, with me close behind. He parted the reeds and we saw that Jasmine was sprawled out on the ground, laughing to the point of tears. Joseph's face lit up when he saw her, and he said, "What's so funny?"

"The- the bird is just a... DUCK!" she said and laughed again. My face burned bright red. The duck that Jasmine had seen quacked and flew away.

"Well, it looked bigger than a duck," I mumbled to myself and let the pebbles fall from my fingertips onto the muddy ground below. When the last pebble hit the ground, a piercing shriek filled the air and a huge bird flew up about half a mile away, muddy water dripping off of its wings. The bird was about as big as a tennis court, wings included. We knew we were out powered, so we turned and ran for our lives. Brave, right?

"I TOLD YOU IT WASN'T A DUCK!" I said as we ran back to the woods for shelter from the huge beast. After hiding fro a while and watching the huge bird settle down, I glanced at the ground and saw tire tracks on the ground. They looked freshly cut into the dirt. I looked up and saw Jasmine and Joseph coming back from packing up our things. I pointed at the tire tracks and noticed that they led straight into what looked like a stone wall. I walked up and touched the rocks. Of course, they didn't move. I channeled my energy into wind and blasted the wall until it slowly opened. I walked inside with the others at my heels and saw exactly what I had hoped. Suki. She was chained to the wall and appeared unconscious. I walked over and gently touched her shoulder. She looked up at me and screamed through her gag and motioned furiously towards the exit to the cave with her head. I didn't understand at first, but by the time I figured out what she wanted me to do, the door slid shut and a voice spoke from the darkness.

"Ah, you're here at last. What have you done with the stone?"


	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9

Jasmine gripped her bag tighter.

"Let Suki go," I said sounding a lot braver than I felt.

"The stone first."

I knew what I had to do. This was when I would betray my friends. I'm giving the guy the stone. I walked over to Jasmine and grabbed her bag. I reached into a side pocket and pulled out the stone.

"Here," I tossed him the stone and he caught it. He unlocked Suki. She struggled to stand up. I dug around in Jasmine's bag for a pack of matches. I lit one and handed it to Suki. She blew on it but instead of going out a long stream of fire burst forth. It circled the stone making it to hot to hold. He dropped it and Suki dove to catch it. It landed in her hand.

"You tricked me!" shouted the man, "For that you'll never leave!"

A purple gas filled the room.

"Don't breath!" shouted Suki.

We all took a breath and held it. I gathered all the clean air in the room and gave us all a small bubble to breathe from. Suki was turning red. She dropped to the ground like she fainted. I looked over to my other comrades and saw Joseph on the ground. Jasmine looked at me, mouthed "I'm sorry", and dropped. I was the last man standing. I knew I couldn't hold it for long. Wait a second! Who has the stone? I looked over and saw Suki clutching it. I knew how Suki's grips could be. She was not letting go of that stone.

The gas subsided and when the crazy dude saw me still standing he smiled. Creepy right? Almost ending up like my friends and then the guy smiling at me? Weird.

Ch. 9

Jasmine gripped her bag tighter.

"Let Suki go," I said sounding a lot braver than I felt.

"The stone first."

I knew what I had to do. This was when I would betray my friends. I'm giving the guy the stone. I walked over to Jasmine and grabbed her bag. I reached into a side pocket and pulled out the stone.

"Here." I tossed him the stone and he caught it. He unlocked Suki. She struggled to stand up. I dug around in Jasmine's bag for a pack of matches. I lit one and handed it to Suki. She blew on it but instead of going out a long stream of fire burst forth. It circled the stone making it to hot to hold. He dropped it and Suki dove to catch it. It landed in her hand.

"You tricked me!" Shouted the man, "For that you'll never leave!"

A purple gas filled the room.

"Don't breath!" Shouted Suki.

We all took a breath and held it. I gathered all the clean air in the room and gave us all a small bubble to breath from. Suki was turning red. She dropped to the ground like she fainted. I looked over to my other comrades and saw Joseph on the ground. Jasmine looked at me, mouthed "I'm sorry", and dropped. I was the last man standing. I knew I couldn't hold it for long. Wait a second! Who has the stone? I looked over and saw Suki clutching it. I knew how Suki's grips could be. She was not letting go of that stone.

The gas subsided and when the crazy dude saw me still standing he smiled. Creepy right? Almost ending up like my friends and then the guy smiling at me? Weird.

He came at me with a needle in his hand. I backed away but my back hit the door…wall…thing. He injected the needle and the contents into my arm and I felt woozy. My brain wasn't working.

The man said, "Sleep" and I obeyed.


	10. Chapter 10

Ch. 10

When I awoke, the cave was pitch black. I summoned the air inside to tell me if anyone was there, but my friends were gone. I was alone. I blasted the wall that I thought was the door, but nothing happened. I used every last bit of strength, and when nothing prevailed, I resorted to yelling out curses and kicking the wall. I ended up with a sore throat and a throbbing foot.

I sat down in misery and thought of what had happened. I had finally found the love of my life, and I blew it. I had given up the very reason that we had come to save Suki, or so I thought. Now I was more alone than ever, and the others were probably thinking that they should have sent me back to the school when they discovered me hiding behind the tree back when we had left on this journey. I hoped that in the future, if I ever got out of here, they would never trust me again.

I tried desperately to stop the tears from flowing, but soon enough, I was sobbing. After all of the tears were gone, I heard a knock on the wall of the cave.

"Jake? Jake are you in there?" someone said. It sounded like Suki, but I couldn't be sure. I hesitated, thinking of my betrayal, but I soon came to my senses.

"Umm, yes I'm in here!" I yelled.

"YES! We have been looking everywhere for you!" Suki said, "Me and the others… Well, I'll explain later. JOSEPH! YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!" I heard a rumble of what sounded like thunder and one of the walls of the cave slid open to reveal Suki, Joseph, and Jasmine, all grinning madly.

"Joseph has control of the earth, and he finally has the hang of it! We were all in caves on the other side of the swamp," she said, motioning another other rock formation across the wetlands we had been in earlier, "We gave up looking over there, and we came over here to look for you. You know the rest."

We rounded up our things, except for the stone, which the man had taken, and moved into a larger cave that had three large chambers. One of them, Joseph and I shared. Suki and Jasmine had one, and the other was where we could cook and eat. Since Joseph could control the earth, we had a way in and out of the caves. Suki made a fire, which I coaxed to grow larger and larger until it was large enough to warm the cave and the other chambers. Jasmine filled buckets with water to put out the fire, and set to work making some food. Soon, she left with Joseph to get more firewood and mushrooms for making dinner.

Later, as we were sipping the soup that Jasmine had made, I happened to look out of the cave at the right time.

"Umm, guys? Isn't that the guy who captured us?" I said and pointed out of the cave.

"Oh, yes, I suppose it is. WAIT, GET HIM, HE HAS THE STONE!" Suki yelled and dropped her bowl of soup in pursuit of the thief. Jasmine muttered something about wasting good soup, but followed Suki along with my brother and me. We weren't as fast as Suki, so I summoned a gust of wind to speed us up. When we were ever with Suki, I summoned an extra gust to carry her. We had almost gotten the man, when he saw us. Dropping the bag he had been holding, he summoned his own gust of wind to stop us from advancing. I was so shocked that he shared my power that I didn't even fight back. Suki wasn't as surprised, she kept on running through the wind. When I snapped out of it, Suki was ahead of us and so I gave her another boost. I fought the other guy's wind with occasional boosts for Suki, but the effort of it wore me out, and I collapsed to the ground.


	11. Chapter 11

Ch. 11

Through my half conscious I could see Suki taking to the man, and not in a nice way either. I couldn't hear anything but Suki's face was turning red. That meant that Suki was using the full power of her voice on him. He was calmly answering and that just made her more mad. She stomped her foot and flames licked the sides of her shoes. The man wasn't at all surprised, though I suppose Suki didn't go down without a fight so he had probably seen her power already. She started yelling again but she stopped abruptly after the man said something. Her face was returning to it's normal color as they talked. Suki turned to me and gave me a questioning look. She walked over to me and turned over my arm where the needle had gone in my arm. She stood back up and walked to my brother and Jasmine. Once she was done talking they turned to me with understanding in their eyes.

I blinked trying to regain any of my senses.

"Get them." The man's voice rang clearly in my head.

I pushed myself up and walked over to my friends. I grabbed onto Suki's wrist.

"Jake, what are you doing?" She asked.

Against my will I dragged her over to the man and dropped her wrist.

"Okay? What was that all about?"

I walked back over and grabbed Joseph and Jasmine.

"I can walk by myself," said Jasmine.

I dropped their wrists too. I stood awaiting my orders.

"Sheesh, Jake," said Joseph, "what's your problem?"

"I'm not required to answer that," I said.

"Well, we are your friends. I think you should tell us what you're doing," said Suki.

"He works for me. And he always will. That's what the serum does."

Jasmine was inching closer to the bag that contained the stone. As she was about to grab it I lashed out and twisted her arm around to her back.

"Ow! Jake that hurts!"

"Well, it's not supposed to be comfortable," I snarled back at her.

Jake looked scared, Suki looked like she was formulating a plan.

"So," stated Suki, "he works for you. Do we get one of your followers for our side?"

The man looked taken back.

"S-someone from my side?"

"You don't have followers do you? Aww. Friends? Enemies? Or do you stay locked up in here twiddling your thumbs waiting for kids to walk by? Huh?"

I walked over to Suki and slapped her across her face.

"Don't talk about my master that way."


	12. Chapter 12

Ch. 12

I looked down at my hands, shocked. What had I done, and why in the world had I done it? Suki was my friend. My best friend. I would never slap her, or at least never like that. My heart pounded as I thought of what this meant. I would always be under that man's control until I died. There was no escape. I knew what I had to do.

Suki gave me a pleading look, like she was begging me to rejoin her side. I wanted to tell her that this was all against my will, but I couldn't talk without the man's approval. I wondered why he needed the stone. He didn't seem to be sick, or have any illness, except maybe a mental one. Who in their right mind would kidnap some kids, argue with them, and force them against their will to hurt each other?

When he allowed me to sleep, it was in another small cave. I was so sick of caves. I wanted to scream and pound on the walls for someone to let me out, but of course I couldn't because I was just a puppet, a lifeless doll with no other purpose but to serve its master. I pondered ways to escape until my master made me sleep_. At least_ _he can't read my mind_; I thought as a dreamless sleep came and made my eyelids droop.

After an hour, Joseph came and woke me. My master must have been sleeping, because I was free to do whatever I wanted. He told me to run away and that the others would come and find me, once they defeated the man. I told him that I wanted to help, but he insisted that it would be better for me to run, while my master was asleep, so I wouldn't hurt anyone. I told him that my master would just find me and control me again, or just summon me, and I would have to obey. For once, Joseph was at a loss for words. I took it as I sign that I had won, and settled back down to sleep. I heard the cave door slide open, and then close again as I closed my eyes. My master had not commanded dreamless sleep, so dreams came.

_ I was standing in front of a huge bonfire. Suki and the others were standing on the other side. Behind me, I heard my master give a command, "Kill them all." I knew that I would have no choice, but to obey…_

I woke up and frantically tried to yell, but it seemed that my master was awake too, for I sat up straight and unmoving, while on the inside I yelled and begged myself to break out of his control. The rock slid open again, but this time it was my master, not Joseph, who looked back at me.


	13. Chapter 13

Ch. 13

"The three others have left. You will follow and pretend that you found a way to get out of my control. When I give the word, you will kill them."

I nodded. Great now I have to kill them.

I stood up and ran to catch up with my friends.

"Guys, wait up!" I called

"What?" Spat Suki.

"I found a way to break free of the curse! I can do whatever I want!"

Suki whispered something in Joseph and Jasmine's ear. They all gave me death glares.

"I did some reading on the serum he put in your arm. It's irreversible. You can't fight it and you can't break it."

She kneeled down on the ground and struck a fire even though it was twelve in the afternoon.

"Suki, what are we doing?" asked Joseph.

"Stopping." She stomped away into the forest and by the time she got back it was dark.

"If we see burnt and broken trees tomorrow, it's my anger at its fullest."

Joseph, Jasmine and Suki stood on the other side of the fire, just like my dream. Wait, if this was my dream then-

"Kill them all."

I pulled a knife out of my pocket and looked at Suki.

"See you guys. He's still under control."

Suki's words tumbled around in my head _It's irreversible, He's still under control, you can't fight it_.

_I'll show her_ the sane part of my brain thought. I slowly put down the knife and turned to where the man was hiding. I lunged and grabbed him by the neck.

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH THE STONE!"

Suki crashed through the bushes. She grabbed the pouch tied onto his belt.

"I'm Sylvester. I thought you guys were going to give me the stone."

"We were," said Suki, "until I did some more reading. I found out that Sensei Joshen really made the stone. You, his arch nemesis, wanted to sell the stone for a huge profit. He wouldn't let you so you staged a note. Your note was found by Jake. Jake found the stone and we took it on a trip. I only did research on you. My first mistake. My second mistake was thinking my Sensei held no part in this. He gets gravely ill and suddenly we find _the only_ Western stone in existence. Some coincidence? No. Now if you excuse us, we will be leaving."

She pulled me up and we walked away.

"How do we et home?" I asked.

"Oh, that's the easy part," Said Jasmine. She whistled and the giant bird came flying out of a cage. She and Suki hopped on no problem. Me and my brother on the other hand…

"Oh, come on you big babies," taunted Jasmine.

We hopped on. The order was this- the bird was big enough that Suki and Jasmine could sit in the front side by side. Joseph sat behind Jasmine and I sat behind Suki.

"You might want to hold on," whispered Suki.

I saw Joseph blush and wrap his arms around Jasmine's waist. I did the same thing-though I blushed and so did Suki.

OoO

We were home in no time. We rushed to the hospital and into Sensei Joshen's room.

"We brought your stone," stated Suki.

She pulled the stone out of her pocket and handed it to her Sensei.

"Thank you."

The stone glowed and then died down to a dull gray.

"Did it work?" asked Jasmine.

"It sure did," replied Sensei Joshen.

"Jake can I talk to you?" asked Suki.

"Um, sure."

We walked into the forest.

"Jake, I really like you."

"I-I like you too."

We both blushed hard and held hands walking back into the village.

I think I'll like it here.


End file.
